Mel Martinez: quorum call: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. martinez: madam president, this sunday individuals around the world will mark world press freedom day by recognizing the

Mel Martinez: plight of journalists in nations where thei rights are not accorded under the law. sadly, this in our own hemisphere. in cuba, the regime has gone to great lengths to extinguish freedom of press, expression, and independent thought. many who have had their homes

Mel Martinez: invaded, their families blacklisted and their lives ruined merely reporting the facts about the reality of cuba under the castro brothers' dictatorship. six years ago in a massive crackdown on independent civil society activists, more than people were dated with 75

Mel Martinez: suffering osecution and then later imprisonment. of the 75 targeted by the regime for imprisonment, 35 were write,journalists, and independent librarians. now because in cuba the repression has been such that people are not a go to a library and read backs that might be banned by the regime, individuals began to

Mel Martinez: have home libraries where people could come and check out a book or read a book that might otherwise not be permitted by the government. these people were imprisoned along with others who in a fledgling kind of way attempted to report conditions today 22 of these courageous individuals remain in prison.

Mel Martinez: in the intervening six years they've been joined by others who dare to express independent thought. among those arrested during the 2003 black spring crackdown was jose luis garcia, a doctor who became a journalist with the "libertad."

Mel Martinez: in 2003 personal possessions. he was prosecuted and convicted under cuba's orwellian code for "acting against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state." he was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Mel Martinez: imagine -- 24 years in prison for a crime of being against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state. in fact he was just a free journalist. he was sentenced to this 24 years. is limited to one family visit every 45 days. his health understandably has deteriorated and there's genuine

Mel Martinez: concern for his well-being. for the regime accused his wife of espionage and conspired to organize mobs outside their homes. these government-inspired mobs threatened to burn the house while the family fears for their lives and were still inside the hoax his wife and children were forced to flee the country all because he dared to speak the

Mel Martinez: truth. another independent journalist jailed by the regime is or man dough gonzalez. he was arrested for reporting on the conditions of state-run services in cuba and criticizing the government's management of issues such as tourism, agriculture, fishing, and cultural affairs.

Mel Martinez: he, too, was convicted for acting against "the independence or the territorial integrity of the state." following his arrest and a 25 year sentence, hernandez was allowed only four hours of light per light and limited communications with his family.

Mel Martinez: authorities encouraged inmates to harass him, according to his wife. no surprise his health has declined during the prisonment. he makes -- the regime continues to clamp down on those using it to speak freely. around the world, information as fast as they receive it but cuban bloggers

Mel Martinez: are lucky to have their messages penetrate the regime's repressive internet restrictions. one blogger found a way to report on the struggles of cuban society is a woman named yoni sanchez, blogging atreat risk by

Mel Martinez: by e-mailing observations to friends outside the country, who then post them online she faces potential prosecution and imprisonment. despite risk, sanchez expressed her support for freedom of expression and in one post said -- and i quote -- "state control over the media remains intact although tecological developments have helped people

Mel Martinez: find parallel themselves informed. illegal satellite dishes that control internet and books and manuals brought by tourists have shaken the government's monopoly on providing news." like many cuba, the constitution provides

Mel Martinez: for speech if it the aims of a socialist society." according to the state department's 2008 report on cuban human rights, anyone engaged in disseminating the propaganda which includes expressing opinions at odds with those of the government, is

Mel Martinez: punishable by up to 14 years in prison. manual, 14 years in imagine, 14 years in prison for disseminating enemy propaganda. we in the united states with our traditions of freedom of expression and free democrat of the press often -- freedom of the press often take free democrats for granted.

Mel Martinez: as we near may 3rd, the day of free press i encourage colleagues who are suffering for exercising their right to free speech. i have a madam president, to put in the record which lists all of those in prison in cuba as a result of their desire themselves freely in vie

Mel Martinez: legislation of the dictates of the regime. so if there is no objection, i would like to place this in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. martinez: today i will introduce a resolution on world friday. there may be some who may differ

Mel Martinez: on the best approach to bring free democrat to cuba but there ought to be no dissent that we are on the side of those who seek to freely express themselves in the midst of a regime. i ho for this resolution which i will